Barely two months to the 2023 general election, some political parties have expressed concern over what they say may compromise the exercise.
Despite assurances from the Federal Government and the Independent National Electoral Commission, that the exercise would be free from manipulations, there are fears of possible disruptions by those bent on having things go their way.
Speaking exclusively with The PUNCH on Wednesday, the National Publicity Secretary of the Social Democratic Party, Rufus Aiyenigba, commended INEC chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, for what he called his commitment to credible elections, noting however that delivering transparent elections is beyond the commission.
He said, “Our major worry is the work of saboteurs who always want to do damage to the system. They can come in the form of cyber attacks to hack the commission’s website. They can come in the form of attacks on the commission’s facilities like we have witnessed in recent times.
“As a party, we are quite impressed with the reforms and innovations by INEC under the watch of Prof Mahmood Yakubu. We have always stated that the patriotism and commitment of INEC are not in doubt because, in the past few years, these have been reflected in the character of elections they have conducted.
“The Social Democratic Party is concerned about the incessant attacks on the facilities of the commission. Delivering credible elections goes beyond INEC. When its personnel and facilities are prone to attacks, with little or no indication that these things won’t happen again, then, we all should be worried. We hope security agencies will take up their responsibility and ensure that these attacks are prevented from happening as we get set for the elections.”
Also speaking, the National Chairman and presidential candidate of the African Democratic Party, Yabagi Sani, said the incumbency factor should be tamed so as not to undermine the choice of the electorate in the elections.
He said, “We are happy that both the government and the commission have assured Nigerians of their readiness to conduct acceptable elections. We are indeed concerned about the negative role the incumbency factor played in previous elections because it can happen again.
“The government is represented in this election by the ruling party and so, you have a situation of he who pays the piper dictates the tune. The question is, how independent can these people be in the discharge of their duties? Can they play by the rules by staying neutral as they are expected to?
“We hope that stakeholders in this election will not be influenced by temporal gratifications to do the wish of the highest bidder. The elections are about the future of Nigeria and Nigerians.”
The National Publicity Secretary of the Young Progressives Party, Egbeola Wale-Martins, raised concerns over desperate political actors who often have their way.
He said partly, “Ignorance and poverty have been weaponised by callous politicians who have succeeded in relegating development and promoting policies that will promote ignorance and poverty so that the electorate will continue to be in perpetual servitude.
“Also, the fear of desperate politicians who are yet to embrace the reality of the innovations brought into the electoral system, hence ready to do anything to disrupt a peaceful environment and sometimes in connivance with some unscrupulous security officers remains one of the greatest threats to the 2023 general elections.”
